President Bola Tinubu plans to send N8,000 (approximately $10) per home in monthly support to twelve million families across the country, citing it as an effort to alleviate the countrywide hardship caused by his unilateral suspension of petroleum subsidy.
Mr Tinubu stated in a letter to the House of Representatives read aloud by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Thursday that lawmakers should approve $800 million in loans to fund the national social safety net program as soon as possible.
According to Mr Tinubu, the cash distribution will have a multiplier effect on around 60 million people and will be transparent due to direct bank transfers to beneficiaries.
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Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government offered the scheme first, but the Ninth Senate was unable to consider it because the session was nearing its end.
Mr Tinubu’s plans for implementing the policy are unclear, as determining who qualifies can be challenging in a country without comprehensive statistics on residents and household income. A request for response from the president’s spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
After taking office six weeks ago, the president ended a policy that had served for decades as a critical cornerstone of economic assistance for millions of individuals.
Mr Tinubu contended that the subsidy regime benefited wealthy residents more than poor citizens. However, social analysts argued that was not a tenable ground to plunge millions further into poverty.
Fuel costs instantly skyrocketed from around N200 to over N550 per litre, with locals lamenting the drastic impact on their capacity to subsist.
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While the N8,000 is only enough for 14.5 litres of gasoline, some families are hopeful it will help pay some expenses as the country’s N30,000 (about $37) minimum salary grows increasingly insufficient for most workers. Since June 1, the administration has neglected to produce numbers on savings from subsidy elimination.
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